Bottle alignment apparatus

ABSTRACT

The present invention discloses an apparatus for the alignment of bottles, which apparatus has no moving parts, and includes an assembly of trough and slide surface. The trough is substantially parallel to the major axis of the bottles. The bottles descend the assembly under the influence of gravity. Bottles which are aligned proceed as directed by the trough whereas non-aligned bottles are diverted away from the trough.

This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 257,368 filed4-24-81 now abandoned.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates generally to bottle conveying apparatus.Specifically, this invention relates to an apparatus for the aligning ofbottles in a base leading or neck leading a configuration.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION AND DISCUSSION OF PRIOR ART

While the invention is subject to a wide range of applications, it isespecially suited for orientation of bottles preparatory to furtherprocessing of the bottles.

Prior art machines are available for orientation of bottles and otheritems.

U.S. Pat. No. 2,159,049, to Quamma, discloses a can aligning means whichcomprises a gate for preventing stacked cans from impinging on thesegregating bars. The gate simply applies a retarding force to thestacked can permitting the bottom can to proceed in its originaldirection.

U.S. Pat. No. 3,598,223, to Lauer, discloses a pear halve orientingmeans which comprises a chute for longitudinally aligning the pears andturning them face down.

U.S. Pat. No. 3,624,773 to Krooss employs conveyor belts to hold thebottles and convey them past orienting fixtures in order to stand thebottles base down.

U.S. Pat. No. 3,726,387 to Krooss describes an apparatus which employs apin to reorient neck leading bottles to a base leading condition.

U.S. Pat. No. 3,690,437, to Kammann, discloses an appartus for aligningand arranging bottles in an upright position. Here is shown the use of achute for longitudinal alignment of the bottles and the reversal of neckleading bottles by a catch member as the bottle drops onto a conveyorbelt.

U.S. Pat. No. 3,868,012, to Kinsley, discloses an apparatus whichemploys a chute to longitudinally align bottles and then has apneumatically operated projection which flips the bottle.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,148,390, to Ionesco, discloses a chute forlongitudinally aligning bottles and side gripping disks in conjunctionwith a lever to invert bottles if required, so they sit on a conveyorbelt base down. A pair of side gripping belts ensure that the bottlesare well seated on the conveyor belt.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,208,761 to Ionesco, discloses a chute for longitudinalalignment of bottles and radial side gripping discs in conjunction witha levered hook to invert bottles. The inverting process ensures that allbottles placed upside down on the belt conveyor are based against theconveyor.

While the above discussed inventions are also directed to alignment, thepresent invention provides a more direct and more economic manufactureand, because of its simpler design and fewer parts, is less subject tomalfunction and therefore requires a minimum of maintenance.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide animproved bottle alignment having no moving mechanical elements.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide an apparatusas aforesaid which provides a reliable positive acting bottle alignmentdevice.

Accordingly, there has been provided an apparatus to convey and alignbottles, for the packaging industry, which apparatus has fewer movingparts than prior art machines and yet is positive acting with highreliability.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The apparatus of the present invention provides positive acting stand-uporientation to bottles by imparting differential speed frictionalengagement to the sides of the bottle while moving downwardly under theinfluence of gravity. Differential speed engagement is imparted to thebottles by entrance and exit belts in parallel, overlapping disposition,with the entrance belts moving faster than the exit belts, carrying anuprighting action to the bottle.

For a better understanding of the present invention, together with otherand further objects therefor, reference is made to the followingdescription taken in conjunction with accompanying drawings while itsscope will be pointed out in the appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1, is a top plan view of the bottle orienting apparatus of thepresent invention;

FIG. 1A, shows an alternate arrangement for the stand up mechanism;

FIG. 2, shows a side plan view of the bottle orienting apparatus of thepresent invention;

FIG. 2A, shows the first alternate arrangement for the stand upmechanism;

FIG. 3, shows a side plan view of the stand up mechanism; and

FIG. 4, shows a top plan view of the stand up mechanism;

FIG. 5, shows a top view of the alignment chute;

FIG. 5A, shows a cross section of FIG. 5 viewed in the direction ofarrows 5A-5A';

FIG. 5B, shows a cross section of FIG. 5 viewed in the direction ofarrows 5B-5B'; and

FIG. 6, shows a side view of a second alternate arrangement for thestand-up mechanism partially cut away to show the stand-up chute.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

A bottle conveying apparatus 10 comprises in general terms, a hopper 12feeding bottles to a first conveyor 14. First conveyor 14 drops thebottles into a return chute 27 from which the bottles slide onto asecond conveyor 16. Second conveyor 16 transfers bottle 11 onto thebottom part of third conveyor 18 which lifts bottle 11. Third conveyor18 then transfers bottle 11 to an alignment chute 26. Bottles 11 whichare not aligned by chute 26 are deflected by a plow 29 onto the returnchute 27 for recycling. Bottles 11 which are aligned by chute 26 enter astand up belt unit 24 and are placed base down on fourth conveyor 20.

Specifically, reference to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 generally shows a bottleconveying appratus 10. Bottle conveying appratus 10 has a hopper 12 forstoring and feeding of a bottle 11 to a bottom portion of a firstconveyor 14. The arrow at the bottom portion of first conveyor 14illustrates the general flow of bottles 11. Bottle 11 then is carried byfirst conveyor 14 and dropped onto a side chute 27. Again, this isillustrated by an arrow at the top portion of first conveyor 14.

Bottle 11 slides down inclined side chute 27 and is deflected by a firstbaffle 19 onto a second conveyor 16. Second conveyor 16 (moving in thedirection of the arrow shown) causes bottle 11 to hit and be deflectedby a second baffle 21. Second baffle 21 causes bottle 11 to engage athird conveyor 18 which moves in the direction of the arrows shown.Third conveyor 18 lifts bottle 11 from the location of second conveyor16 to the top of an alignment chute 26. Alignment chute 26 has a thirdbaffle 23 which redirects bottle 11 from third conveyor 18 ontoalignment chute 26. Alignment chute 26 has a trough 25 associated withit for the alignment of bottle 11, as is shown. The bottle 11 may haveanother bottle 11 stacked upon it as is illustrated in the mid portionof alignment chute 26. As the two bottles slide down alignment chute 26under the influence of gravity, the topmost botle 11 strikes a plow 29.Plow 29 causes topmost bottle 11 to be deflected into the arrow chute27. A fourth baffle 31 is placed on top of plow 29 to further ensurethat bottles 11 are deflected into arrow chute 27 unless they have beencaptured by trough 25.

Bottles 11 which slide down trough 25 may do so base leading or neckleading as shown. In either case, bottle 11 enters a stand up chute 28which is located in the area of a stand-up belt unit 24 which will bemore fully described later. Upon entering the stand-up belt unit 24,bottle 11 is manipulated by the belting and exits base down on a fourthconveyor 20. Bottle 11 which may be unstable and may fall off of fourthconveyor 20 and be returned to second conveyor 16 for recycling. Fourthconveyor 20 carries the stable bottles 11 around to a fifth conveyor 22for further processing.

FIG. 1A and FIG. 2A show a first alternate stand up belt unit 24Aarranged in the same manner as stand up belt unit 24 and having inaddition a post pair 32 to which is attached a retard finger pair 34.The function of retard finger pair 34 will be described in greaterdetail later in the body of this specification.

The stand-up belt unit 24 is shown in greater detail in FIG. 3 and FIG.4. FIGS. 3 and 4 will be described together, since FIG. 3 is a side planview of the stand up belt unit 24, and FIG. 4 is a top plan view of thestand up belt unit 24 showing the same parts.

A belt unit side plate 35 and 35A form the sides of stand up belt unit24. The plates 35 and 35A are fastened together by a pair of belt unitspacers 37. Each of the side plates 35 and 35A has an elongated slot 33so as to permit the adjustment of stand up belt unit 24 with respect toa first drive sprocket 30. Mounted on first drive sprocket 30 is fourthconveyor 20 which is positioned between side plates 35 and 35A. A firstshaft 39 is permitted to protrude through side plates 35 and 35A byslots 33. Mounted on first shaft 39 is a second drive sprocket 44 fortransmitting power to stand up belt unit 24. The second drive sprocket44 provides power to and drives a sprocket chain 48 which also engages afirst idler sprocket 40, a second idler sprocket 46 and a first drivensprocket 42. First idler sprocket 40 and second idler sprocket 46 aremounted on a first support shaft 102 and a second support shaft 104,respectively. The arrangement of drive chain 48, as shown, permits thehorizontal adjustment of stand up belt unit 24 without loss of drivechain 48 tension. It is easily seen that stand up belt unit 24 can alsobe rotated about first shaft 39 as required without loss of drive chain48 tension.

First driven sprocket 42 is mounted on a first drive shaft 43 whichdrives a gear box 50 and 50A. Each gear box 50 and 50A is affixed to itsrespective side plate 35 and 35A. Each respective gear box 50 and 50Adrives a fourth shaft 70 and 70A. Fourth shaft 70 and 70A arerespectively suported concentrically by first post 58 and 58A so thatfourth shaft 70 and 70A is free to rotate. First post 58 and 58A arerespectively affixed to a first support block 52 and 52A which are inturn fixed to respective side plates 35 and 35A. Similarly, a secondsupport block 54 and 54A and a third support block 56 and 56A areaffixed to respective side plates 35 and 35A, as shown.

At the end of each first post 58 and 58A and remote from first supportblocks 52 and 52A is a third arm 82 and 82A for support of a fifth shaft72 and 72A. Third arm 82 and 82A are adjustable so that the distancebetween shafts 70 and 72, and 70A and 72A can be adjusted. Fixed tofirst shaft 72 and 72A is a second small pulley 94 and 94A. Shaft 72 and72A also has affixed a first intermediate pulley 98 and 98A and a fourthlarge pulley 100 and 100A, as shown.

A first small pulley 92 and 92A is affixed to fourth shaft 70 and 70Aand is connected by an exit drive belt 74 and 74A to the second smallpulleys 94 and 94A, thereby enabling the fifth shafts 72 and 72A torotate. Pulleys 98 and 98A are connected by means of entrance drivebelts 76 and 76A to a third small pulley 96 and 96A for the driving of athird shaft 68 and 68A. The third shafts 68 and 68A are rotationallysupported by a second arm 80 and 80A. Second arm 80 and 80A areadjustable by means not shown. Also mounted on third shaft 68 and 68Aare a collar 86 and 86A, a third large pulley 90 and 90A and a secondlarge pulley 88 and 88A. Second large pulley 88 and 88A is free to moverotationally independent of the movement of third shaft 68 and 68A. Anexit belt 38 and 38A is supported between pulleys 88 and 88A, and 100and 100A, as shown.

Second arm 80 and 80A are supported in a fixed but adjustable positionby a second posts 60 and 60A, which posts are supported by secondsupport blocks 54 and 54A. Third large pulleys 90 and 90A are connectedto a first large pulley 84 and 84A by an entrance belt 36 and 36A,thereby making entrance belt 36 and 36A operative. First large pulley 84and 84A are fixed to a second shaft 66 and 66A for support of the largepulley 84 and 84A. Second shaft 66 and 66A are rotationally supported bya first arm 78 and 78A. First arm 78 and 78A are in turn supported by athird post 62 and 62A affixed to third support block 56 and 56A. Collars86 and 86A are used to limit the axial movement of second shafts 66 and66A.

FIG. 5 shows details of the alignment chute portion 26. Those itemswhich have been previously described will not be again described, whatis shown new in FIG. 5 is a first slide surface 106 and an outer wall108.

FIG. 5A shows a cross section taken through 5A-5A' of FIG. 5 and viewedin the direction of the arrows 5A-5A'. Here is seen the downward slopeof first slide surface 106 from the level of third conveyor 18 to thetrough 25. Also shown is the bottle 11 which has been captured by thetrough 25 as well as the bottle 11 in return chute 27.

FIG. 5B shows a cross-section 5B-5B' of FIG. 5 under the aforementionedconditions. Here is seen the bottle 11 resting against outer wall 108.The bottle 11 has slid down slide surface 106. As bottle 11 moves downthe slope of the alignment chute it will be captured by trough 25 or bedeflected by plow 29.

FIG. 6 shows a side view of a second alternate stand-up unit 24Cpartially cut away. Stand-up unit 24C is similar in design to stand-upunit 24 and components common to both units have already been describedwith reference to FIGS. 3 and 4 and are denoted by suffix C. Those itemswhich are new are a stand-up belt pair 110 seen to run the length ofunit 24C. The cut away portion of unit 24C makes more clear the stand-upchute 28, the trough 25 and an alternate position 112 for trough 28.Alongside sprocket 30 is seen a step transition 114 for preferred usewith this unit 24C. Other transitions are possible although not shown.

The bottle conveying apparatus 10 will be more clearly understood fromthe following description of its operation when considered together withthe various drawings.

The individual drive means for the various parts of apparatus 10 are notshown. Synchronization means for the various moving portions are alsonot shown since they will confuse the workings of apparatus 10. Further,these drive means and synchronization means are well known in the art.

Hopper 12 is loaded with bottles 11 and apparatus 10 is energized. Firstconveyor 14 lifts bottles 11 up its incline. The sloping construction ofthe bottom of hopper 12 causes bottles 11 to slide toward first conveyor14. An arrow at the bottom most portion of first conveyor 14 shows thetypical direction of bottle 11 flow. As first conveyor 14 lifts bottles11 they are dropped off of first conveyor 14 when the bottles 11 reachthe end of conveyor 14, as shown by the arrow.

Bottles 11, which drop off the end of conveyor 14, fall onto side chute27 from where they slide onto second conveyor 16. First baffle 19 causesbottle 11 to move onto the horizontal portion of second conveyor 16.Second conveyor 16 carries bottles 11 (see arrow) over to second baffle21 which diverts bottles 11 onto upwardly moving third conveyor 18. Thearrows on third conveyor 18 show the conveyor's direction of motion asit lifts bottles 11 to where they contact third baffle 23.

Third baffle 23 directs bottles 11 in a well known manner so that thebottles 11 move in the direction shown by the arrow onto first slidesurface 106. As bottles 11 slide down surface 106 they may be capturedby trough 25. Bottles 11 not captured by trough 25 impinge on fourthbaffle 31 and are diverted to side chute 27 for another go around. Asbottle 11 is captured by trough 25 it may have another (multiple) bottleriding on top of it. The two slide down alignment chute 26 and thebottom bottle 11 passes under plow 29 whereas the top bottle 11 hitsplow 29 and is diverted into side chute 27.

The bottles 11 which are captured in trough 25 are aligned either withbase leading or neck leading as shown. As each bottle 11 enters thestand up belt unit 24 it is gripped on either side by entrance belts 36.The side gripping entrance belts 36, together with side gripping exitbelts 38 and stand up chute 28, cause each bottle 11 to stand on fourthconveyor 20 in a base down configuration. The applicant has found that apreferred condition is obtained by running the entrance belts 36 twiceas fast as the exit belts 38. Whereby the bottle 11 will leave the exitbelts 38 base down on fourth conveyor 20. In general, the applicant hasdiscovered that stand up belt unit 24 works best when entrance belt 36is parallel to a straight portion of stand up chute 28, as shown. Theaforesaid are preferred conditions although other conditions areoperable.

Further, exit belt 38 is shown to be at an angle with respect to thesurface of fourth conveyor 20, this arrangement imparts a downwardcomponent of force to the bottle 11 which ensures that it sits firmly onfourth conveyor 20. Fourth conveyor 20 and exit belt 38 are adjusted torun at the same speed. By adjusting stand up belt unit 24 horizontallyabout first shaft 39 and radially abut shaft 39 the stand up performanceof unit 24 can be varied. The drawings show that stand up chute 28 meetsfourth conveyor 20 to provide a smooth transition. The stand up unit 24will also function if there is an abrupt transition such as a step atthe aforementioned point.

Reference to FIGS. 1A and 2A shows that a stand up belt unit 24A mayalternately be used. Unit 24A has a retard finger pair 34 which isdesigned to engage a bottle 11 as it stands up. Retard finger pair 34 isgenerally made of tygon tubing but may be made of other suitablematerials. In some cases the bottle 11 may tend to fall forward andretard finger pair 34 will prevent the rapid movement of bottle 11 butyield to the slower movement of bottle 11 due to the fourth conveyor 20.

FIG. 5 shows a portion of apparatus 10. This portion is that ofalignment chute 26 and return chute 27. Alignment chute 26 employs adownwardly sloping first slide surface 106 to convey, by gravity means,the bottle 11 from the third conveyor 18 to the trough 25. Slide surface106 is joined to trough 25 along one edge as is shown. This arrangementenables bottle 11 to be captured by trough 25 anywhere along the lengthof trough 25. The foregoing arrangement prevents a jam up of bottles 11which might result if access to trough 25 was limited to the topmostportion of alignment chute 26. It is contemplated that alignment chute26 can be used to align bottles 11 as shown regardless of the subsequentstand-up process.

FIGS. 5A and 5B show additional features of how the sloping slidesurface 106 causes bottles to slide toward trough 25.

FIG. 6 illustrates the use of single pair of side gripping belts 110which is used to stand-up the bottle 11 entering from trough 25. Belts110 also extend into the fourth conveyor 20 area to perform the basedown placement function. FIG. 6 further illustrates the use of thesloping transition 114 which is one of the preferred transitions for thestand-up chute 28. FIG. 6 also shows the alternate position 112 for thetrough 25.

Further any means of feeding bottles 11 into stand-up unit 24, 24A andor 24C will result in bottles 11 being placed base down on fourthconveyor 20. Therefore, it is contemplated that other means than shownfor aligning bottles 11 can be operatively employed with stand-up unit24, 24A or 24C.

It is further contemplated that the outer wall 108 portion of trough 25may be automatically opened to relieve a jammed condition in alignmentchute 26 if this feature is desirable.

Thus, there has been shown and described a stand up orientationapparatus wherein axially aligned bottles are fed, one at a time, whilemoving downwardly by gravity to be frictionally engaged by paralleloverlapping belts in which the entrance belts move faster than the exitbelts so as to cause a pushing upward on the trailing portion of thebottle and a gripping on the loading portion, so as to upright thebottle.

While there has been described what is at present considered to be thepreferred embodiment of the invention, it will be obvious to thoseskilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be madetherein without departing from the invention. It is, therefore, aimed inthe appended claims to cover all such changes and modifications as fallwithin the true spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. Bottle alignment apparauts, for aligning aplurality of bottles having a base, main section and a neck in linearalignment, said apparatus comprising:a downwardly sloping trough forreceiving said bottles, said trough causing each of said bottlesentering it to align its major axis with the general direction of saidtrough, and having said bottles move along said trough by gravity; amovable wall, said wall being a part of an outer wall position of saidtrough where said movable wall is automatically opened to relieve ajammed condition in alignment chute caused by a plurality of bottles; aslide surface fixed to an edge of said trough and being sloped upwardlyfrom said edge and the upper portion said trough, a supply conveyor forsupplying said bottles to said slide surface and placing said bottles onsaid slide surface, so that said bottles placed on a portion of saidslide surface remote from said edge are in a non-upright position andare caused by gravity to slide toward said trough and where they furtherenter a stand-up chute; a plow affixed to the bottom-most portion ofsaid trough in a predetermined position, so as to divert and deflect anon-aligned bottle from a path followed by an aligned bottle, whereby aportion of randomly aligned bottles placed onto said slide surface leavefrom said downwardly sloping trough in a base leading or neck leadingcondition, and with the major axis of all of said bottles leaving insaid portion being in linear alignment with the general direction ofsaid trough: and a return chute whereby said non-aligned bottles arereturned to said supply conveyor.